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The County Borough is an important industrial centre. In
addition to a number of factories in the North, there are in the
South of the Borough some of the largest and most important
factories in or near London. These factories manufacture various
articles such as rubber, soap, sugar, and glass.
By rail it is only about 5 miles from the City of London,
hence a large number of the populace work in London and district.
The whole of the Royal Victoria Dock and ' the new King
George the Fifth Dock, as well as the locomotive and other works
of the London and North Eastern Railway Company, and the
carriage works of the Midland Railway Company (London, Tilbury,
and Southend Section) are within the district. Naturally
where there are extensive docks, one finds a large number of
casual labourers.
West Ham is a densely populated town, having 62 people to
the acre.
There is still a great shortage of houses in the district, and
even with the addition of new houses erected by the Council and
private enterprise, there is still a very long list of persons requiring
increased or improved housing accommodation. In this connection
there is a dearth of building sites in the Borough.
The growth of the district can be guaged from the fact that in
1762 the number of houses in the Borough was 700, and in 1931
the number was 47,995.
Summary of General Statistics.
Area (acres) 4,706.
Population—
Census, 1931, 294,086 (preliminary report).
Estimated population to the middle of 1931, 296,700.
Number of inhabited houses (1921), 47,995; (figures for 1931 not
yet available.)
Number of families or separate occupiers (1921), 68,569; (figures
for 1931 not vet available.)
Average Rateable Value—
General Rate, €1,400,105.
Sum represented by a Penny Rate—General District Rate, £5,834.
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